1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to amusement rides. More specifically, the present invention is drawn to a manually-operated merry-go-round for children.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are many types of amusement equipment provided for public parks, school playgrounds and other children's play areas. One piece of equipment which has retained popularity for many generations is the merry-go-round. Unfortunately, because of poor design and/or construction which leads to improper use, the merry-go-round has directly or indirectly caused many serious accidents. A safe, durable, manually-operated, uncomplicated and "fun" merry-go-round would certainly be a welcomed addition to the art.
The prior art is replete with variations of merry-go-rounds. For example U.S. Pat. No. 120,585 (Hirons), U.S. Pat. No. 247,858 (Thoni), U.S. Pat. No. 555,338 (Rodehafer), U.S. Pat. No. 639,386 (Hile), U.S. Pat. No. 836,016 (Doner) , U.S. Pat. No. 1,070,105(Blount) and U.S. Pat. No. 1,588,941 (Chapman) show manually operated merry-go-rounds. However, the bases of the merry-go-rounds are not supported in concrete and may be prone to tilt over under certain conditions. Further, no provision is made to prevent participants from wandering in the path of the revolving ride or swing structures.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,174,407 (Glen), British Patent 1,496,877and German Patent 34 30 282 A1 disclose swings wherein a mechanism employs potential energy of the weight of the swings occupants to provide rotating energy. There is no teaching that the supporting shafts are reinforced and embedded in concrete or that any provision is made to deter collisions with errant participants.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,965,039 (Hunt), U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,042 (Klopf et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,606 (Ehrman) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,588 (Lien) disclose amusement devices that are motorized and require trained operators.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 334,788 (Blankenagel) shows an ornamental design for a merry-go-round. There is no discussion as to the base support structure.
German Patent number 1,807,816 shows a merry-go-round fixed on the base of a transport vehicle.
None of he above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to disclose a manually operated merry-go-round as will subsequently be described and claimed in the instant invention.